i yall……my name is Lori and I am hoping to bring you all valuable information regarding Hepatitis C, the treatment, an over view, etc. Although I am no doctor, I have learned so much from research, that sometimes I think I should be!

My mother, Sara, was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis C (HCV), being a stage 3 Fibrosis (scarring of the liver), and grade 2 inflammatory. She is 47 years old, and to this day, cannot figure out why, or how she contacted this disease. The majority of sufferers either had blood transfusions or had an organ transplant before 1992, were intravenous drug users, or had tattoos, or body piercing in an unsterile environment, or had multiple unprotected sex with people. But none of those were my mom. She was a heavy drinker for a good portion of her life, and was never told that drinking could have such an effect on her liver. Now she has liver disease, and the cause is more than likely from alcohol. You see, alcohol is toxic to your liver and its effects differ greatly in each person. Alcohol is believed to lead to alcoholic cirrhosis over a period of years. (Cirrhosis involves permanent damage to the liver cells). The only means to help stall future damage done to your liver is to stop drinking. That’s the soundest advice that anyone can give to a person.

Like my mother, and the majority of the public, awareness for the HCV is very unknown. People have never heard of it, and do not realize that this disease is fatal, if left untreated. That’s why it is known as “The Silent Killer”. Baby boomers especially, are finding this out, but too late. There are usually no symptoms of this disease early on, so it can harbor in your body, and cause damage to your liver, before you even know you have it! Most people go about 20 years before ever realizing anything is wrong, and for some, it’s too late. Because so many baby boomers experimented with drugs in their early life, they are just finding out today that they have this deadly disease, and are now fighting to save their life. The damage is already done, and the epidemic continues to grow in our population. It is estimated that there are almost 5 million people infected with this disease, and 80% of those are not yet aware that they have it. How scary is that? The good news is that finding out now, that one has it, can halt the progression, with treatment, and the person can live a full healthy life.
But they have to be tested in order to find out. Public Awareness is everything, I couldn’t stress that enough.

The government does not see this disease as an epidemic, as it’s a slow progress to end stage liver disease, and with treatment, the progression can significantly reduce the damage, or sometimes reverse the effects of the HCV. But like I said, for some people, its just too late, the damage has already been done, and they are dying waiting for liver transplants. There are over 17,000 people on waiting lists to receive a new liver, and approximately 4,000 organs available. And HCV is now 4 times more prevalent than HIV/AIDS, and each year 10,000 – 12,000 people die from this disease. Why is it that everyone knows of AIDS, but not of the HCV? The figures of annual deaths, and newly diagnosed individuals are estimated to TRIPLE in the next 10 years, due to lack of Public Awareness and funding for treatment. That’s an eye opener in my book, and should be the same in everyone else’s’.

Current treatment is Peg-Intron plus Ribavirin, ( Peg-Intron is a shot given once a week, and Ribavirin is a pill taken every day), and the length of treatment depends on your genotype. My mom is genotype 1a, which means she must do treatment for 1 year, with no guarantees that it will help her condition. Other genotypes, 2 and 3 are a half a year, with a much higher success rate for treatment. I get a little pissed off when thinking of treatment, as there is new medication out there, but not yet FDA approved. It is supposed to have a better success rate with higher chances of genotypes 1a and b, responding well. But while the FDA, and the different manufactures are sitting on their behinds, people are having to take the current treatment, with unsatisfactory results, and more discomfort and pain due to the meds. After approval, those non-responders, who have just under-went a years worth of treatment, must then go through another year with the new drug, and then hope it works better than previous drugs. To me, it’s a lot of added stress to the victim, and gives false hope and security to a full recovery.
It makes ones life feel as though they have just wasted several years for nothing. Can you blame them?
All of this because we do not have enough funding, and again, Public Awareness. Liver diseases are poorly understood anyway, but with adequate investment in effective liver research, we can potentially save billions of dollars and prevent human suffering. With no cure for the HCV, the problem will continue to grow, and families will have to cope with medical, financial and emotional problems, until the government realizes this is an epidemic, and more funding and awareness needs to be done. Exceptions have been made for “high profile” widespread diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and such exceptions are appropriate for Hepatitis C and other liver diseases given the magnitude of the problem.

The cost of treatment, quality of life, and the expense to our economy is devastating and will only get worse with everyone sitting on their behinds. I urge you, your family and friends, co workers, everyone to inform the government and public of this disease, and demand for your right to be heard, to be represented, and to be informed yourself of the impact this disease has on all of us.

Respectfully yours,
Lori Vosburgh


For more information, please click on my links, or contact your local health care provider

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